Academy@Worden
Academy converter · 660 pupils
74% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.2
Academy sponsor led
The Valley Leadership Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 578of 1,050 places
- Free school meals
- 41.9%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 82
- Ofsted
- Report card, 21 April 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Needs attentionAchievement Needs attentionAttendance and behaviour Needs attentionPersonal development and wellbeing Expected standardInclusion Expected standardLeadership and governance Expected standardPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Fearns Community Sports College (URN 119745, until 31 March 2019).
What the data says
The Valley Leadership Academy has no sixth form. Of the 72 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 3% moved to a sixth form college, 72% to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
17% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 32.6 against 46.1 across England and 45.1 in Lancashire, with 31% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Fine Art is unusually popular at GCSE: 45% of the year group took it, against 9% of pupils across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Lancashire and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 72 | 13,296 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 78% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 75% | 81% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 12% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 3% | 20% | 13% |
| — further education college | 72% | 48% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 17% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 6% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 32.6 | 45.1 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 44% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 50% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 33% | 34% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.92 | 3.95 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 44% | 26% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 29.3 | 32.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 35.2 | 49.3 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 1% | 12% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 80 | 98% | 88% | 5% | 22% | 55% |
| English Language | 80 | 98% | 89% | 11% | 20% | 56% |
| English Literature | 80 | 98% | 86% | 16% | 21% | 64% |
| Combined Science | 79 | 96% | 65% | 1% | 9% | 32% |
| Geography | 46 | 56% | 41% | 7% | 25% | 37% |
| History | 45 | 55% | 41% | 9% | 26% | 40% |
| Fine Art | 37 | 45% | 9% | 0% | 28% | 5% |
| Spanish | 28 | 34% | 19% | 0% | 27% | 25% |
| Design and Technology | 11 | 13% | 11% | 0% | 23% | 0% |
| Religious Studies | 5 | 6% | 31% | — | 32% | — |
| Biology | 1 | 1% | 23% | — | 45% | — |
| French | 1 | 1% | 18% | — | 29% | — |
| Physics | 1 | 1% | 23% | — | 46% | — |
| Chemistry | 1 | 1% | 23% | — | 47% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare Skills | 32 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 25 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 17 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 9 | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | 8 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Lancashire
Accrington Academy
Academy sponsor led · 953 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.4
Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,280 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.7
Albany Academy
Academy converter · 725 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.7
Alder Grange School
Community school · sixth form · 899 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.0
All Hallows Catholic High School
Voluntary aided school · 911 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 55.6
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.